Nutritional supplements are used by many consumers in an effort to achieve a healthy diet. Many nutritional supplements are intended to provide nutrients that may otherwise not be consumed in sufficient quantities.
Both the demand for and availability of nutritional supplements has increased dramatically in recent years. For example, it is estimated that there are tens of thousands of nutritional supplements for sale in the United States, and it is estimated that over half of the adult population consume nutritional supplements.
One common problem faced by consumers of nutritional supplements is selecting an appropriate nutritional supplement from among the overwhelming number of choices available. One way a consumer may deal with this problem is to consult with a dietitian, who may make a recommendation based on an analysis of the consumer's healthy and unhealthy habits. However, such a consultation can be expensive, time consuming, and subjective, and may also be unhelpful due to the consumer providing subjective and inaccurate information to the dietitian, given that consumers notoriously overestimate their healthy habits and underestimate their unhealthy habits.